Firefly: Soft Touch
by All The Umbrellas In London
Summary: Mal and company are trapped on a mining colony following the murder of the town's sheriff. The only way they can get off? Find out who did it. Or find someone else to pin the blame on. T for violence and Zoe Wash alone time, may increase. Please R&R.
1. Prologue

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**FIREFLY: SOFT TOUCH**

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**PROLOGUE**

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"What the hell you doin' down there, boy?" came a voice booming through the darkened boy, and all within turned their peepers to face up at him, his massive bulk framed in the door by dusty, hazy, brilliantly white light. "What the hell you doin'?"

No one was quite sure who he was referring to, so no one made a move, nor a sound. Except for one. The bartender. He ducked beneath the counter.

The man made his long, slow descent, while the entire bar remained eerily silent. Finally, he reached the bottom of the tall stair case that lead up to the bar's entrance, and swaggered over to the counter. He leant over to the other side, and growled down at the cowering barman "What the ruttin' hell you doin' down there? Get me a drink. Matter a fact, get everyone a drink! On me! Yee-haw!"

The ice had been broken, and the bar erupted into cheers and applause.

As the crowd pushed their way to the bar to get their free drink, the man turned to the person sitting at the bar closest to him. "I asked, what the hell you doin' down here. I expect you, to answer me, boy!"

The teen turned to him, and, despite dirt-covered face, said through almost incandescent white teeth. "Whatever I want."

"Oh, no, you did not just say that to me." The giant growled. "You little _tzao gao_!"

"Listen to me, you _hwoon dahn_, I will do whatever the hell I want!"

The giant threw a punch, and smacked the boy across the dirt-smeared face, sending him sprawling out of his chair.

Still, no one seemed to notice.

Or they were just too intimidated by the giant, and the sight of the boy sprawled on the dirty, rocky ground, to speak up. Either way, the giant sneered. He had once again asserted his dominance over his errant step-son.

"Don't bother getting' up, you _go tsao de_ son of a whore!" the giant growled threateningly. It would be the last thing he would ever say.

There was a sharp crack, the unmistakable pop of a gunshot, an the giant roared. He clasped the small of his back, and, all of a sudden, the bar that had once been rowdy was, for the briefest of moments, as silent as a long abandoned grave. Then every last man, plus the dog tethered in the corner, saw the blood spattered giant rear up, a hole the size of an orange in his back.

Then the brief serenity was shattered by screams, and shouts, and the bar was total pandemonium, as the patrons bolted for the exit, or over the bar, to get away from the shooter…

But there was no trace of whoever did it.

And the giant's step-son was gone.

The giant collapsed onto the dirty floor, and when it was clear that the shooter would not fire again, the bartender leapt over the counter, and scurried to the giant's side. He knelt beside the man's body, clad in furs and leather. The barman's dirty fingers found the giant's pulse. Or lack there of.

"Some one's killed the Lawman! Get the Deputy! Stop any o' those gorram space ships from flyin' away. Hurry, hurry!"

A small woman slipped away from the crowd huddled into the corners of the room, up the staircase and out the door, to go and find the second-in-command of the Soft Touch Colony.

And, among the cowering crowd, still sitting in his chair with his feet irreverently placed on the table, Malcolm Reynolds inwardly groaned. "Mother_rutter_."

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_ Author's note: so you have the basic premise of this story; Mal and Serenity are trapped on a tiny little colony following a murder._

_The real chapters will be longer._

_Chinese translations:  
_tzao gao_: crap  
_hwoon dahn_: jerk  
_go tsao de_: dog-humping_


	2. Chapter 1: What Did Mal Do?

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FIREFLY: SOFT TOUCH

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CHAPTER ONE

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Inara Serra gracefully swept down the ramp of her shuttle, clad in bolts of the most exquisite fabric, her eyes absorbing everything, and sharing their innate warmth with every one around. Her hair was pulled back, giving her a sublimely beautiful appearance, enough to send any man to his knees before her.**

It was this that she had cultivated over years and years of training in the Guild on Sihnon, and she knew how to use it just as good, or better than, any Companion in the Guild. She kept her hands by her side, and made measures, graceful steps down the ramp, before finally reaching the bottom.

A tall, distinguished looking man, with a slightly balding crown, clad in the fancy dress of a Colony Supervisor, he smiled as he extended his arm towards her. Inara accepted it, and took the last step off the ramp, and onto the gravel path that led up to the gentleman's home.

"Inara Serra," the Supervisor said, with a deep bow. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

"Supervisor Westron. It is a pleasure to meet you to." Inara said, proffering her hand, which the man took lightly. "It's wonderful to meet you as well."

He smiled, warmly, and Inara found herself liking the gentleman. "How do you like Soft Touch?"

"I have seen very little, though it appears…nice."

Westron chuckled. "It is not, I can assure you, but I am trying to make it better. Still, shall we get started?"

Inara was, for a moment, stunned. "I'm sorry, Supervisor, but the Companion tea ceremony must be undertaken…"

The Supervisor laughed jovially. "Of course, Madame Inara, that's what I meant. Shall we alight to your shuttle?"

Inara smiled, made a small curtsey.

The two began to make their way up the ramp into the shuttle, when Westron said off-handedly "Perhaps I did not make this clear when we talked, Madame Inara. I have no plans to lie with you. It is not because I do not find you attractive, but because I am loyal to my wife, even in her death. I asked you to come here to provide me with some company for a few days. Trying to fix this colony is a tiring exercise, and I am alone now. Please," he motioned for her to enter the shuttle first, and Inara did so.

He followed, and immediately, his sense were assailed by the sights and scents of the Companion's shuttle: bolts of fabric slung over every bulkhead, a Buddha in the corner, surrounded by an exquisitely maintained shrine, and an old, ornate tea kettle sitting on a tiny portable stove. The smells of various types of incense hung heavily around the single-chambered vessel, but were neither cloying, nor oppressive. It was beautiful, and matched its sole occupant perfectly.

Inara set herself beside the sole, and activated it. With a slight hum it came to life, and she indicated for Westron to kneel across from her.

As he did, Inara motioned to ingredients spread out before her. "Shall we begin?"

* * *

Zoë Washburne always lost herself in the moment when making love, one of the few times anything managed to crack her emotional armour. And, at that moment, her armour had been well and truly cracked.

She lay in her bed, and her husband lay atop her, and there was a tender warmth only people who truly, and deeply, loved each other could share. They were all failing limbs, and sweaty flesh, and pressing lips… they were love.

And finally, both climaxed together, and the goddess and her god collapsed beside each other, breathing heavily, naked but for the thin white sheet that covered them

"Whoa…" Hoban 'Wash' Washburne groaned. "That was… whoa…"

"Yeah it was…" Zoë sighed happily. "You are one hell of a lover, husband mine." She rolled over, and kissed him tenderly on the neck, then on the chin, then the lips.

As she did, a loud, resounding bang shook the very bulkheads of the ship the two had chosen as their home; the _Firefly_-class _Serenity_.

Zoë flew off her husband, and into combat mode just as fast as she had become the tender, passionate woman before they had made their love, landing naked on the floor, crouched, cat-like. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know." Wash groaned in annoyance. "Probably Jayne just dropped something in the hold is all. What does it matter, dearest, just come back to bed."

Zoë sighed. She smiled as she rolled over, back towards Wash.

"Why the hell are you so jumpy?" Wash asked her.

"I don't know…"

There was a second bang, this one stronger than the first, and a tremor ran through the entire enough to send thing tumbling off the couple's shelves, all over their floor. There were similar collisions throughout the ship, and Wash was positive her heard a roar of shock and pain from _Serenity_'s gunhand, Jayne Cobb, as well as a string of Mandarin cursing that would have made Buddha himself keel over with a heart attack from shock.

"Unless Jayne dropped a gorram nuclear bomb, I think we have a bigger problem than him dropping items on our hands." Zoë said, once again getting out of bed, and quickly throwing on her clothes. Wash did the same, and, less than two minutes later, the pair were climbing out of their cabin, up into the main arterial corridor of _Serenity_.

"Zoë! Wash!"

The pair turned, towards the cockpit which lay up a short flight of stairs from the corridor. The ship's mechanic, Kaywinnit Lee 'Kaylee' Frye, had shouted from the pilot's seat.

"Get up here!"

The pair bolted down the corridor, their boots pounded the decking, and then the stairs as they ran into the tiny, dingy little cockpit.

"What is it, Kaylee?" Zoë demanded, all business, as she reached the wispy young mechanic's side.

"Someone's gone and put a landlock on us!" Kaylee groaned in horror.

Zoë muttered a curse in Mandarin under her breath. "What did Mal do?"

From the rear of the ship, a loud man's voice, belonging to Jayne, hollered "Zoë, what the hell did Mal do?"

Zoë, ignoring Jayne's shouted query, turned to Kaylee and Wash. "Take the mule, go find Book, the Doc and River. Jayne and I'll look after the ship.

"Zoë, are you sure it's a good idea for Kaylee and I to depart at this most vital juncture?" Wash asked, putting on his familiar, eloquent persona.

"Listen here, husband mine, this bird ain't flying until they get the landlock off of us and until that happens, there's no need for a pilot. So get your cute ass on the mule, and go find our passengers."

Kaylee and Wash left, and Zoë took the pilot's station and repeated to herself "What the hell did Mal do?"

* * *

Shepherd Derrial Book loved food. He loved preparing it, and he damn well loved buying it. In fact, if he wasn't a man of the cloth, he would have been a chef. If the Alliance would have let him.

He picked up a bunch of papayas from the stall before him, and took a deep sniff.

"You like?" the old woman behind the counter asked.

"I do." Book slammed a credit chip down on the counter. "I'm surprised you get such fresh produce out this far from the Core."

The woman chuckled. "Soft Touch ain't just a minin' colony, Preacher, it's a farmin' one as well. We get all sorts of produce up in these parts."

"Well," Book said, sampling one of his new acquisitions, "If I wasn't a man of the space ways, I'd very much like to live here, out of all the border worlds I've visited. Have you lived here all your life?"

The fruit seller nodded. "I have."

"Been off-world?"

"Yeah, once to Persephone. I came straight back."

"Really? I've lived for quite a while on Persephone, and I…" Book was interrupted as a veritable platoon of men bolted past him, shouldering their way through the milling crowd. "Who are they?"

"Local deputies." The woman said in irritation. "Damn fools. They give psychopaths guns and tell them to shoot other psychopaths. Must be some trouble down at the bar."

"The bar, eh?" Book said, and growled beneath his breath "What the hell has Mal done?"

At that moment, the young beauty with whom _Serenity_ had travelled for almost four months, River Tam, appeared beside Book. "Papaya."

"You want one, sweetie?" Book said, offering her one of the small, sweet fruit.

River plucked it from his fingers, and took a deep, lusty bite out of it. She sniffed it curiously. And placed it back in Book's hand, before wandering off into the crowd again. Book sighed, and began to eat the rest of the fruit. He bowed slightly to the seller, thanked her for her services, and went off after River. He found her standing at a stall that sold cheap souvenirs; this one proffering tiny, multicoloured plastic butterflies hanging from strings for sale. River stood there, entrancing by the little things, that seemed to shimmer magically in the wind.

"River!"

Book didn't even need to turn to see who had shouted; Doctor Simon Tam quickly overtook him, running to River's side. "Why did you run off like that? Don't do that."

Simon, as up-right and soft-spoken as ever, took a hold of his sister's hand and guided her back towards Book, but she remained rooted to the spot, eyes still on the floating butterflies.

"There's been some trouble over at the bar." Book told Simon, who gave exactly the answer Book had been expecting.  
"What did Mal do?"

* * *

Inara and her latest escort had finished the tea ceremony, and were just settling down to talk when the Incoming Transmission panel on the shuttles control surfaces began to beep. Inara excused herself, and made her way to investigate the interruption.

Accepting the transmission, she was somewhat surprised by the appearance of Zoë's elegant face on the tiny screen. "Zoë. This had better be good," Inara whispered, making her annoyance clear.

"It is. Something happened somewhere in town, and now we're landlocked."

"What?" Inara hissed. "What did Mal do?"

* * *

Zoë paused before answering. Because, through the viewports of Serenity's cockpit, she could make out a man, short and stubby with the air of a professional annoying bureaucrat, surrounded by a posse of the biggest, meanest, gun-totin'-est sacks in town, walking towards Serenity.

"I don't know, but I guess that we're about to find out."


End file.
